Crimes of Fire (Wayward Fae Paranormal Prison Book 1)

by J. N. Colon

  Tommy Radcliff’s jaw unhinged from his spot in the back of the pickup. The baby fat had dissolved from his face, leaving it hard and chiseled, and his blond hair had darkened. The light freckles across the bridge of his nose still lingered. If you didn’t know better, you might think the guy was handsome.

  But I saw beyond the all-American boy surface to the dark monster in the making beneath.

  He let out a string of curses before a slow, predatory smile melted over his thin lips. “I’ll be damned. Sloane Warren.” He whistled. “I always knew you’d get your stupid ass locked up.”

  “You know that girl, the redhead?” The guy behind the wheel asked.

  “My family took her in when no one else wanted her.” He slowly examined me in a way that sent every hair on my body rising. “My dad used to love her.”

  Bile oozed up my throat. I turned away, clutching the stick so hard my hands cramped. Hot and cold flashes sped over me.

  “You know him?” Kimber whispered.

  I ignored her. I couldn’t make my mouth move.

  “She was a bad girl, right Sloane?” Tommy called. “My dad had to punish her. A lot.” His laughter made me sick. “He’d take her out back in the shed. Sometimes he let me watch. And sometimes he let me be the one to teach her a lesson.”

  Hot stings ripped across my back as if it were happening all over again. My throat turned raw from screaming, pleading for it to stop. It never did, not until Calvin was satisfied that I had learned my lesson. By the end, my wrists burned from the coarse rope.

  Tears blurred my vision. I blinked hard, forcing them away. I could feel the stares of the other prisoners weighing on every side of me, one pair heavier than the others. Like an involuntary tick, my head swiveled in Viktor’s direction.

  I couldn’t hide from him. He saw the pain, the shame, and the fear tearing my insides apart. I was utterly exposed. With just one glance from me, he knew Tommy had something to do with the scars on my back.

  The unseelie prince’s eyes hardened to shards of ice so sharp they’d cut diamonds. I raggedly sucked air, trying to keep the sobs from breaking free. Viktor dropped the trash stick and flicked his juniper stick down.

  My heart leaped inside my throat as he marched toward the truck. Tommy continued to taunt me with monsters from my nightmares.

  “You remember that time you tried to run away, and I caught—”

  Viktor yanked him out of the truck so fast the guy didn’t even have time to yell before the Fae’s massive fist found a target. Blood spurted from Tommy’s nose.

  “What the hell?” His unusually shrill voice was muffled from the hand he held to his face. “Get off me!”

  A feral smile split Viktor’s mouth. “It’s your lucky day. I haven’t gotten into a fight in a while.” He dropped Tommy to his feet and punched his cheek. My former foster brother crumpled to his knees.

  The driver opened the car door. Or he tried. Viktor slammed it shut so hard a dent appeared in the shiny red panel. Shouts boomed from the guards as they bolted toward the attack.

  The movement finally dispersed the fog from my brain, and I lunged forward.

  “No, Sloane!” Kimber caught me around the arm, hauling me back.

  A loud popping lit the air, and purple sparks flew from Viktor’s sizzle chokie. He didn’t even flinch as he leaned over, smashing his fist into Tommy’s ribs. The guards continued to zap Viktor, but it didn’t faze him.

  “Let me go!” I shook off Kimber’s grasp and ran forward.

  The unseelie prince kicked Tommy, forcing him to curl into a ball on his side. The whimpers blubbering out of him did nothing to discourage Viktor from grabbing his shoulder and yanking him onto his back.

  “Vik, stop!” My voice trembled so hard I could barely get the words out. “You’re going to kill him.”

  His eyes slowly lifted to mine. Vibrant sparks crackled over the metal necklace, forcing his tendons to flex. “I know.”

  My head snapped back. Holy shit. He had every intention of killing Tommy with his bare hands.

  “Viktor, let the guy go.” Officer Garrett was the only guard brave enough to get more than a few feet from the unseelie prince.

  “Hit him with another,” Officer Gildafor called, standing several yards back.

  The electric sparks on the sizzle chokie flashed again. A shudder ran through Viktor, but he refused to step away from Tommy. The other two friends shook in the cab of the truck. I wouldn’t be surprised if they wet themselves.

  “Vik, come on,” I pleaded.

  My least favorite C.O. suddenly clutched my arm and yanked me back.

  “Get off!” I shrieked. The elfin guard’s slender frame was surprisingly strong. Getting to harass me probably gave Gildafor some extra zest.

  A smile tipped the edges of her lips. “Hit her with some too, Torrance. She’s riling him up.”

  I braced for an electric shock.

  “That won’t be necessary.” Officer Garrett stepped behind Viktor who had finally relented and dropped to his knees.

  The female C.O. sneered, clearly disappointed she missed the chance to revel in my torture.

  “Sorry, Vik, but you know the rules.” Officer Garrett produced a pair of heavy handcuffs. I knew from Viktor’s wince they were made of iron. Did they only carry those outside of the prison?

  “They’re going to throw him in the hole,” Kimber whispered as she came to stand next to me.

  My heart shuttered to a stop. “What? But he’s him.”

  She shrugged. “He almost killed a human. The warden can’t let that slide.”

  Tommy whimpered and moaned, a puddle of blood staining the ground around him, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel one ounce of sympathy. If that made me a monster, I didn’t care, not after what he did.

  Officer Garrett hauled Viktor to his feet. A storm of emotion raged beneath his hard exterior. Why would he do that? Why would he risk getting put in the hole just to beat up some human?

  The same human that helped maim and torment me.

  “Yeah, nothing’s going on between you two.” Kimber shot me an incredulous expression.

  I couldn’t speak through the lump rising in my throat as I watched Viktor being taken to one of the vans.

  A shadow spilled over my back. “Looks like Vik’s going to be out of commission for a few days.”

  I whipped around, narrowing my eyes at Faolan. “Go to hell.”

  His smile was one of nightmares. “I know how much he hates it when I play with his toys.”

  Chapter 20

  Officer Garrett opened the heavy door, his mouth set in a grimace. “Don’t take too long. The warden said five minutes, remember? You don’t want to be in there for any longer. Trust me.”

  I nodded and trudged into solitary confinement, also known as the iron hole. The guard shut the door behind me, the click of the lock echoing. I could already feel the iron in the air. I could smell it. My chest ached knowing Viktor sat behind that door, surrounded by the poisonous metal.

  “What are you doing here, Sloane?” His gravelly voice resonated through the small barred window.

  I stepped closer. “Why did you do that?”

  “Want to be more specific?”

  I rubbed my temples. He could never give me a straight answer. “Why did you attack Tommy?”

  “Beating up humans is a favorite hobby of mine, and it’s been awhile since I’d come into contact with any. I couldn’t help myself.”

  “Be serious.” I peeked through the window to see Viktor slumped on a slab of concrete, his head hanging. My throat tightened at the iron cuffs still clasped around his wrists.

  His head lifted until those silver irises penetrated the darkness. “I’m serious. Don’t you know how murderous I am?”

  I clasped the bars. A groan escaped as a bout of weakness hit me. Yep, definitely iron.

  “Don’t touch them!” Viktor was out of his seat and at the window in seconds, trying to force my fingers away.


  I kept a firm grip. “Tell me why you did that.”

  His jaw flexed so tightly that the grinding of his teeth vibrated through the cell. “You know why,” he finally muttered.

  My heart gave a hard thump. If I kept prodding him, he might convince me to admit what Tommy and Calvin Radcliff did. He might suspect, but he didn’t know the dirty details.

  The devil’s in the details.

  He certainly was.

  Viktor managed to pry my fingers off the iron bars, but he didn’t release them. He studied my hands, trailing a line around my wrist where faint marks still marred my delicate skin. His nostrils flared. He could guess what they were from. Those coarse ropes had always burned.

  Why did I let Viktor do this? Why did I let the guy I was supposed to kill see my painful secrets?

  “Sloane, look at me.” When I didn’t lift my head, his fingers squeezed mine. “Sloane.”

  With a sigh, I met his gaze, the moisture evaporating from my mouth. Dark circles already bruised beneath his eyes, and even in this dim lighting, I could see the loss of color in his cheeks. How long did he have to stay here?

  “Why do you have so many scars?” His rough voice bordered on a growl.

  “I just do.” He wasn’t only referring to the ones on the outside. He saw the ugly stains damaging my soul.

  And that was why I had to kill him, so it never happened to Jilly.

  Viktor’s fingers laced through mine, holding on tightly. That unrelenting stare pierced right through all my barriers. I didn’t want the unseelie prince to see me, but he wouldn’t leave me in my dark place. My pulse spiked, and I pressed against the door trying to feel him through it. I didn’t even care about the iron slowly weakening my body.

  He opened his mouth as if he were going to say something and then slammed it shut. His grip disappeared, and he backed away, taking a piece of me with him. “Get out, Sloane.”

  “But I…” I what? Why was I even here? I shouldn’t care that he’d gotten locked in the iron hole.

  “Leave. Now.” His forceful voice slammed into my chest.

  I pivoted and ran to the other door, beating on it for Officer Garrett. I couldn’t be near Viktor anymore. He tore me apart a little more each time. On my first day at Wayward Fae Penitentiary, he’d promised to show me a whole new level of broken. I was damaged beyond repair, but I had a feeling the unseelie prince could shatter me completely.

  A shrill scream yanked me from the fitful sleep. I bolted up in my bed, my chest heaving. What the hell was that? I glanced at Kimber’s bed to see if she’d heard it or if it had been just part of my nightmare.

  My cellmate was gone, though. Her covers had been tossed aside, and her pillow thrown on the ground.

  I took several shaky breaths and brushed the tangled snarls of hair from my sweaty face. It must have been a bad dream.

  Shadows moved in the hall, and a pair of smoldering gold irises materialized. I scrambled up with a slew of curses. The outline of a panther formed as it released a vicious roar.

  Alisha.

  “Come to attack me at night while I’m asleep? That’s pretty pathetic.” Since I still sported the stupid goblin cuff, I should probably think about getting a weapon to protect myself. Maybe I could ask Isla where she scored the knife she tried to murder me with.

  Alisha let out another low rumble and slinked past, her claws ominously clicking on the cement.

  A rush of air exited my lungs. I would have been in deep shit if she’d actually opened my cell door and charged.

  A shriek ripped through the corridor. “Sloane! Help!”

  I dashed toward the bars, searching the shadows. “Kimber!” Shit. The shifters had her. Why else would Alisha be prowling near my cell?

  “Help me, Sloane!”

  “Unicorn.” I ripped the door open and sprinted into the hall. Where were the guards? Kimber shouldn’t be punished for being my cellmate. That wasn’t even her choice. “Kim!”

  A figure appeared around the corner, electric emerald eyes blazing through the shadows. “Looking for this?” He whirled around to show Kimber struggling in his arms. Tears streaked her unusually pale face.

  “Let her go,” I demanded.

  “Not a chance, seelie-dae.” The daemon, Eros, grinned and then disappeared into the darkness.

  A string of curses spilled out of my mouth. He shadowmelded. I would have been in a little more awe if panic hadn’t torn my insides to shreds. He could have gone anywhere.

  Kimber screamed again, and I darted down the hall toward the anguished cry.

  “Please, don’t hurt me!”

  Her voice bounced with a hollow cadence. The bathroom.

  I ran as fast as I could, my bare feet slapping the cement. I raced into the bathroom to find Eros still clutching Kimber. “Let her go. It’s me you want.”

  “You’re right.” He laughed as Kimber’s form dematerialized into a puff of white smoke. “Sorry, seelie-dae. You should really learn see through a glamour. It’s pretty pathetic.”

  My blood turned cold. This had all been a setup. Kimber was probably having a midnight snack somewhere while I fell for the trap, hook line and sinker.

  Shit.

  “Someone should have stayed in her cell tonight.”

  I whipped around at the familiar voice. Maria blocked the exit along with two daemons flanking her on each side. Alisha prowled in front of them, her gaze locked on mine. If I made a sudden move toward the hall, she’d pounce.

  “I think you’re right.”

  Double shit. I didn’t need to see him to know who that voice belonged to. Faolan sauntered from the stall area, a feral smile creeping over his face. His citrine eyes glowed too brightly in the dim lights. Warnings blared in my ears.

  “What do you want?” I crossed my arms and widened my stance, watching Henrick slither out of the shadows and take his place behind the alpha. A cold sweat began to soak my clothes. This was really bad. They had me surrounded, and Faolan was out for blood.

  “The question isn’t what do I want; it’s what does Vik want.” Faolan leaned against a tile wall, studying me. “This isn’t only about a piece of ass. He wants something.”

  I gave a nonchalant shrug. “I don’t know what the guy wants. Why don’t you ask him?”

  He smirked. “We both know the prince isn’t too forthcoming with information. Besides, it doesn’t really matter what he wants. He’s not going to get it.” He pushed off the wall and stalked closer, his movements more animal than man.

  I glanced behind me as more daemons and shifters filled the space. Tiana’s green irises had melted to black. She wanted to suck every drop of my energy. I had no chance of getting out of this bathroom. No one would come to my aid if I screamed. Most of the prisoners shunned me, and the guards were elsewhere, probably paid off by Faolan.

  “Whatever it is, I can’t let Viktor have a seelie-dae on his side, even if you’re a hated mutt.” His voice sounded muffled. As he angled his head, sharp fangs descended. “You’re too powerful, Sloane.”

  My breath came in ragged pants. I pulled at the goblin cuff, but it was too small to slip over my hand. “I don’t even know how to use my powers. What threat am I to you?”

  Faolan’s rumbling laugh chilled me to the bone. “You’ll eventually learn to use them, and I can’t have that.” He ripped his shirt off, revealing defined muscles unnaturally stretching and twisting as if bugs writhed beneath his flesh. “And I need to take advantage of this opportunity while Vik’s in the iron hole. He can’t protect you now.”

  Loud pops snapped through the bathroom like gunshots. The shifter’s face elongated, and his spine curved until he landed on all fours.

  Air whooshed out of my lungs as Faolan changed into a beast covered in slick ruby red and black scales. My knees trembled watching the long black sickles on his paws grow. The click of them on the tile reminded me of witch fingernails tapping impatiently as her cauldron of boiling children brewed.

  “He�
��s going to rip you to shreds,” Henrick taunted, “and then throw that elitist unseelie prick off his throne.”

  I spun around, but arms forced me back toward Faolan. Tremors rippled through my entire body. The shifter was going to kill me. He snarled, shaking his dragon-like head, sharp spikes protruding from his jawline and nose. My fingers scraped at the cuff, trying in vain to rip the damn thing off. I’d break my hand if I could. Jilly’s future depended on my survival.

  “Stay the hell away from me,” I hissed as the alpha stalked closer. “You’ll regret this, Faolan.”

  If a dochar could laugh, he’d be doing it right now. And instead of backing away, he lunged.

  Faolan crashed into me, and his claws sank into my shoulders like a knife through butter. Pain exploded through my body. My head bounced on the ground, creating starbursts in my vision.

  I choked back a groan. How the hell could I get out of this?

  I struggled beneath the scaly beast as hot, fetid breath blew on my face. Blood coated the back of my throat. The daemons howled, sucking up the energy in the bathroom. Saliva dripped onto my cheek.

  Images of my sister raced toward the surface. Her brown eyes filled with tears and her body trembled as she faced the horrors of the world without me. Jilly would lose her sweetness, her innocence, and maybe even her soul.

  I couldn’t let that happen. I had to fight. I had to win.

  My knee slammed into Faolan’s groin. His roar reverberated harshly through the bathroom before he rolled off. I flipped over to crawl on my hands and knees, but too soon, the dochar recovered, and sharp pain rippled across my calf. My face smacked against the tile as he forced me down. Blood poured from my nose.

  I blinked to clear the black spots from my vision. Son of a bitch. I glanced over my shoulder. Faolan’s sharp teeth dug into my leg. A ragged cry tore out of my mouth as I tried to break his grip.

  The goblin cuff clanked against the floor. I needed my damn powers. Without them, I didn’t stand a chance against the shifters or daemons.